How Many of You Smoke?

[Flash Walken]

One more thing I've noticed, and didn't when I wrote it, but 'only drink when I smoke' is going to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

I have a cigarette once every 6 or 8 months.

[Hack&Lube]

I seem to have trouble getting addicted to things. My asian genetic make-up means that I have a defective alcohol processing enzyme so I can't really drink, so sometimes there was nothing else to do but then I never became addicted to smoking nor other things that I have honestly tried. It all seemed to have no effect on me. Something must be wierd about my biology.

I do enjoy the smell of unburnt tobacco though, smelling a cigar or cigarette is nice. I did enjoy shisha/hooka for awhile when they had those legally in Calgary like at the Mediterrean Cafe and also in Europe but those things are much worse than smoking a pack because the water simply cools the smoke and allows you to inhale more than you ever would otherwise. The water doesn't filter the smoke, it only cools it and allows you to suck in more carcinogens.

Honestly, I do have a pack around, but I never touch it except for special occasions or emergencies, if I'm having a really good meal, if I want to sit on the sunshine. I really hate the social/moral stigma surrounding it. I might have a smoke maybe only once every month or two by myself or with friends socially. A pack would last me a year or more. I can't imagine what normal smokers do, how they can afford such a habit with such detriment to their health, how they brave the cold to stand outside freezing all the time. Now that you can't smoke indoors in bars/clubs, there's really no point, it's not something enjoyable, it's just something you need to do and that's when it becomes silly.

[Rathji]

I smoked for 10 years.

Quitting is the best thing I ever did. More money for hookers and blow!

[Flames89]

Smoke about 1 or 2 a day (after work). Then somewhat full time on weekends.

[TimSJ]

I figure if i quit smoking then i really would be perfect. And no one should be totally perfect..haha

[VANFLAMESFAN]

I smoke about 10-15 a day, depending on how the Flames are playing. I've smoked for about 10 years. Have tried a couple times to quit, 7 weeks is as far as I got, but nothing more.

[Regulator75]

Heavily smoked for 10 years. Been smoke free for 9 years this May.

I still regard that accomplishment as one of my finest.
It was really hard to quit.

I commend all who have also rid themselves of that addiction.

[worth]

Only occasionally when drinking. Will smoke cigars when I have them. Got back from the Dominican a while ago and brought back some nice ones. So i'll smoke those, but once those are done, that's it.

I also occasionally smoke shisha. Much better than cigarettes.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

see my answer in the weed thread, the thought of inhaling smoke directly into my lungs make me sick to my stomach. Not to mention knowing the health risks, the smell, and seeing what it can do to you long term (my grandmother was a chain smoker). I've never touch the things, never even inhaled once (I'm a goodie-too-shoes that'll never know the meaning of fun I know, haha).

That said, if you smoke it's your choice, and I must admit when I'd go with friends for smoke breaks (head outside and socialize while they smoked) I really enjoyed the "smoking culture" of just chatting while having a puff. I miss that now that I don't have as many smoker friends around.

Although flip side of the coin, is that I think it's a HUGE turnoff when I see a chick smoking.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Although flip side of the coin, is that I think it's a HUGE turnoff when I see a chick smoking.

It seems to be a big turnoff when girls smoke for most guys. I dont care when doods smoke, so does that make me sexist?

[goaliegirl]

I have smoked for around 14 yrs about a pack a day ,I really do enjoy it but I am going to qiut in 2 weeks not really because it is bad for me but because I hate spending so much money .We are going to Vegas on the 21st and as soon as we get back I am done ,I think I am going to use the patch this time ,hopefully it will work

[The Goon]

I've never smoked tobacco for essentially the same reason I've never smoked pot - grew up with terrible asthma and figured my lungs were already in bad enough shape that I didn't want to make them worse.

I'm happy that the smoking laws in Calgary have finally caught up with the rest of the country. Unfortunately I'm marrying into a family of smokers, and every time I go to the house of my future parents-in-law, I end up hacking and leaving feeling like I was at a smoky bar.

I'll probably have a lot more to contribute to the inevitable "what junk food do you eat" thread.

[4X4]

I smoke 10-15 cigs a day. If I'm drinking, this increases significantly.

[habernac]

smoked for 20 years, It'll be 6 years this June that I've quit. Tried I don't know how many times. Quit when it started to effect my cycling (didn't hurt that the price went up to $10 a pack about that time as well). A visit with my friend's terminally ill Dad didn't hurt either. He had lung cancer, they gave him 2 months to live, he turned it into 4 years. He had smoked more than 40 years.

[DuffMan]

I've smoked for probably 25 years. Up until 10 years ago, I was at least a pack a day. Then I quit for 2 years. Then I started and quit repeatedly over the years. In the past 10 years when I was smoking I'd say I was a light smoker, having less than 10 a day. I quit 2 months ago now, pretty much cold turkey. I don't know why, but something seems different this time. I still have the urge, but I don't have the desire. I think I have just got paranoid, and every time I had a sore throat or something, I'd think I had throat cancer, or lung cancer. We'll see. My number one rule is not to have cigars while golfing. This always seems to lead to, more cigars and eventually cigarettes.

For those talking about smelling smokers, one of the things that really bugs me now, is, my kid has a friend and as soon as I walk into my house I can tell if her friend is there, as I can smell smoke on her clothes. She has the type of parents who smoke in the house and in their truck with the kid in it. The kid is only 10, and I'd say the chances of her smoking when she is 15 is moreso than kids whose parents don't smoke around them.
That's another thing I should say, while I did smoke over the years, I never did it in front of my kid.

[Ford Prefect]

One cigar every evening. More when camping or playing poker with the boys.

[cgy2london]

never once touched a ciggarette. My mom smoked from my childhood till i was about 13, so I just always hated it. saying that spending 5 days a the rink for 10 plus years now has led to a tobacco addiction. Unfortunatly its copenhagen. Even more unfortunate im playing in england now and you cant buy the stuff! you have to order it online through a dodgy website and pay through the teeth!!

Love a fat dip with the boys after a big meal on the road in a hotel or while playing cards with the boys on the bus, but i keep telling my mom im gonna quit soon. 22 next month, maybe its time 2 fade out the chew...

[jolinar of malkshor]

Don't smoke. Smoking is for suckers.

[Engine09]

Started smoking when I was around 13 years old, off and on for years. Finally quit for good about 7 years ago.

Love a fat dip with the boys after a big meal on the road in a hotel or while playing cards with the boys on the bus, but i keep telling my mom im gonna quit soon. 22 next month, maybe its time 2 fade out the chew...

Copenhagen? That's the worst.

I used to buy Red Man and Hawken when I was younger, Beech Nut also. Could never stand Copenhagen or Skoal, made me sick.

[troutman]

Smoked on weekends during the college years. In the last 10 years, I have probably smoked less than one pack - camping, at a pub or wedding.

It really is about the worst thing you can do to your body - there is a great poster at my doctor's office that shows all the immediate benefits of quitting, even for long-time smokers. Read this:

http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/...ienfaits_e.php

Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do to improve your health and quality of life. Non-smokers have a much lower risk of getting dozens of smoking-related diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD, including emphysema).

Here are some other good things that happen to your body once you stop smoking:

If you can quit before age 30, I understand your body can pretty much repair itself, but there is no good reason to smoke at all.

Put something good in your body, Vitamin D:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l_gam_mostview

The benefits of vitamin D are no longer restricted to cancer prevention: Studies have linked a shortage of the compound to such serious, chronic ailments as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, influenza and schizophrenia.